H&R Block to post $500 million loss

H & R Block Inc. expects to post a loss of more than $500 million in the fiscal second quarter as it shuts down its troubled Option One Mortgage Corp. lending business, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Kansas City, Mo.-based tax preparer said it expects to post a second quarter loss of $502.3 million, or $1.55 cents per share, and said that it will not file its second-quarter earnings report on time. During the year-ago period, the company posted a loss of $156.5 million, or 49 cents per share, according to the filing. The company said that part of that loss, $366.2 million, or $1.13 per share, came from discontinued operations, including most of Option One, which suffered an increase in borrower defaults stemming from origination activities and a write-down of fixed assets. H&R Block said it lost $136.1 million, or 42 cents per share, from continuing operations. The company said the delay in the delivery of its report for the quarter ended Oct. 31 is due to the additional time needed by its new auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP of New York, to complete its transition work. H&R Block hired Deloitte as its independent auditor on Oct. 15, according to the filing.